JAN 3301

JUN 3301

With no clear successor to the Emperor, Chancellor Blaine has accepted the task of governing the Empire until the succession has been determined. He reiterated his statement that the matter would be resolved after Emperor’s funeral. He then revealed more about the investigation into the regicide:

“Officers from the Imperial Guard and Imperial Intelligence Security Service have begun their investigation and are being provided with the resources they need.

“The assassin has been identified as Brendan Paul Darius. Senator Patreus has confirmed that the man was a member of his entourage, and the Senator is helping with the investigation. Darius killed the Emperor in a savage attack using a concealed blade, and a separate investigation has been launched to determine how he was able to sneak a weapon into the Emperor’s presence.

“Darius was killed by the Emperor’s Guard during the attack, and we have as yet been unable to determine his motive for the murder.”

For the remainder of the session, the gathered senators offered support and words of condolence to the Imperial family.

A group calling itself the 'Children of Liberty' has made a public statement concerning the Alliance and what they call its “rampant hypocrisy”. The group claims that a "huge gulf" exists between the Alliance's professed goals and values and the reality present in many of its member systems.

"For an organization that purports to be devoted to the ideals of liberty and self-determination", the release stated, "the Alliance certainly tolerates a great deal of despotism and tyranny within its own borders. It's about time the Alliance addressed the rampant hypocrisy of allowing dictatorships – as well as other restrictive, undemocratic forms of government – membership into their supposed bastion of freedom and liberty."

The statement went on to list a number of Alliance-sponsored autocracies in various systems, and called on the Alliance and its supporters to sponsor serious democratic reform in said systems by backing democratically-aligned factions over autocratic ones.

This weekly transmission lists some of the systems currently in conflict around the galaxy, based on the latest data. (*).

Here are 10 of the 13,044 minor factions involved in a civil war:

Callavs Inc

Sigma-2 Ursae Majoris Liberals

Ovimbundu Silver Universal Serv

Mafia of Zelano

Independent HR 1245 for Equality

HR 1245 Comms PLC

Catuncheim Gold Dragons

Catuncheim Confederation

Ye'kuapemas Dynasty

Ye'kuapemas Silver United PLC

Civil wars occur between minor factions in the same system over ownership of major assets such as starports. During civil wars, only combat missions and activities help bring the conflict to a resolution. Security, development level and standard of living indicators all drop for the duration of the civil war.

Here are 10 of the 2,393 minor factions at war:

Turot Creative Industries

Turona Crimson Universal Ind

Ao Kach Gold Boys

Coelrind Gold Mob

Mufrid Democrats

Citizen Party of Sekenks

Workers of Peng Free

Mulung Piri Noblement

Nanarilobo Jet Partnership

Revolutionary Jotunheim Resistance

Wars occur when a minor faction invades another star system. For the duration of the conflict, standard of living, wealth and security are all severely impacted. Combat missions and activities determine who wins the war. If no winner emerges, the war ends in a ceasefire.

After an exciting week it’s time for another report on the political manoeuvrings and struggles of the galaxy’s most prominent political players. Hostilities have flared up, so read on to find out who benefitted from the chaos and who has been a victim of it.

Arissa Lavigny-Duval used this week to recover from the turmoil her administration had fallen into, with her supporters preparing several systems for expansion and undertaking widespread fortification throughout her space. This impressive defensive effort has assured Arissa’s rise to the #1 spot in the GalNet rankings, despite the successful enemy undermining of Cook and He Xingo.

Aisling Duval has suffered an unexpected drop to #3 in the galactic rankings this week. An increase in hostile activity in Aisling’s space, and the successful enemy action in her system of Syntheng, has pushed her administration into turmoil. This downturn in the face of a relatively minor offensive on her space calls into question Aisling’s ability to maintain control over her rapidly growing sphere of influence.

Zemina Torval has struggled in recent weeks, and her drop in rankings is certainly understandable. The Senator had her control of nearly half a dozen systems successfully undermined, and her only expansion attempt, in Mannoda, failed. While Torval’s resource reserves and her supporters’ impressive fortification efforts were enough to stave off turmoil, she will be facing a difficult week if the hostilities in her space continue.

Denton Patreus has used the recent weeks to recover from the sharp drop in support his organisation has seen. With the Kumo Crew distracted and under pressure from Operation Davy Jones, and Federal corsairs focusing on Zemina Torval, the Senator’s forces surged ahead, rapidly expanding Patreus’ sphere of influence and securing a rise in the rankings for their ambitious leader. It remains to be seen if this impressive recovery can be maintained if Denton’s systems once again come under attack from his rivals.

Zachary Hudson had a successful week. With expansion paused due to recent turmoil, his supporters completed an impressive fortification program throughout much of the President’s sphere of influence. This meant that only one of Hudson’s systems was successfully undermined by the enemy, and it gives the Federation politician an impressive reserve of resources to draw upon.

Felicia Winters has had her space heavily infiltrated by enemy wings for weeks now, and her supporters always staunchly defended her systems. However, this past week saw a sharp increase in hostilities in the Shadow President’s powerbase, straining her modest forces. With her grip on much of her space undermined by rivals, Winters’ administration falls into turmoil, and it’s only through impressive effort from her supporters that just one of her systems is at risk.

Edmund Mahon has shown that his organisation has the ability to grow stronger even in the face of extreme difficulties. The Alliance politician’s rise to #2 in the GalNet rankings is well earned this week, with his resilience to heavy hostile action attributed to a successful fortification program and a series of expansions into highly profitable systems in the recent weeks. While both of those factors give Mahon a good reserve of resources to draw on, his enemies successfully undermined eight of his systems in what likely heralds a period of increased hostility, likely to tax the rapidly expanding organisation.

Li Yong-Rui’s Sirius Gov has retained its high galactic standing despite a sudden increase in attacks on its systems. While the ability of Li Yong-Rui’s supporters to withstand the added pressure is impressive, the successful undermining of two their systems and widespread hostilities throughout many of their border systems likely spell an end to a period of relative peace for the organisation. As tensions with Sirius’ neighbours flare up, the corporate government is sure to come under increased pressure from without.

Archon Delaine and his Kumo Crew continue to defend against the Imperial offensive – dubbed ‘Operation Davy Jones’ – which is now in its fifth week. While the pirate lord’s grip on his claimed territory has been severely challenged, with one of his expansion attempts stopped in its tracks and his control over more than a dozen systems undermined, there is yet no victory in sight for his attackers. With a relatively small powerbase and key systems fortified against aggression, the Kumo Crew remains unbroken, having avoided falling into turmoil and even securing one new system, Kakmbuta.

Pranav Antal has experienced an amazing surge in support in the recent weeks. Emboldened, his supporters claimed several new systems for Utopia, including Ewah, where a fierce battle with the local opposition forces took place. While attempts to claim the distant Sothis faltered and expansion into Lidpar was countered by staunch enemy action, it seems clear that Utopia will continue to grow at a quick pace. The one difficulty facing Pranav Antal’s organisation is somewhat lacklustre fortification efforts, which may expose Utopian systems to enemy action, should hostilities flare up.